by Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Sports

The decision by the Toronto Maple Leafs to hold a news conference for Brian Burke inside Air Canada Centre was interesting considering that the fired general manager always speaks his mind.

But Burke, who's still employed by the team as a senior adviser to the board, had a simple reason for why he's no longer guiding the team's hockey operations.

"We didn't win," he said.

Burke wasn't long removed from winning a Stanley Cup in Anaheim when he was hired by the Maple Leafs in November 2008. But he wasn't able to end a playoff drought that has lasted since 2003-04.

Still, he said he was stunned by the announcement. He said he was heading to the airport on Wednesday to fly to New York for the board of governors meeting when he was told by the new ownership to come into the office.

He said you usually can see the vultures circling if a job is in jeopardy, but not this time.

"This one here was like a two-by-four upside the head for me," he said.

Other tidbits:

-His new position has nothing to do with the hockey side of the business.